Zone Fighter Episode 21 – Muteki! Gojira Ooabare

Godzilla! Godzilla’s back! Hooray! Godzilla will save us from tedious Zone Fighter, at least he should, because he’s the whole freaking reason I’m watching this show! In fact, this episode isn’t that bad. It’s significantly creepy, featuring the Garoga doing some pretty horrible things. It also introduces a whole new perspective on the Garoga that presents a universe of trouble and possibilities.

We find out this episode Godzilla lives in a cave. Not just any cave, it’s a cave with an automatic split-open door, and it’s in the middle of an abandoned rocky terrained area just minutes from downtown Tokyo. Geographic craziness aside, the main question is, who built Godzilla’s home? Because I doubt it was Godzilla stomping around with carpenter’s tools. Maybe Godzilla got all his sons together and had them construct a house. But then we don’t see those sons, so maybe not. Godzilla is a minimalist, because it’s not decorated, and Godzilla just sits in the center of the cavern. Probably meditating, maybe composing music in his head, or reviewing and analyzing past battle victories in his mind. You know, kaiju thoughts. Godzilla keeps in practice by sparring with Zone Fighter, probably because he misses his friend, Jet Jaguar. Come visit, Jet!

Can’t a Godzilla watch the National Cheerleading Championships in peace without Zone Fighter begging for help?

This episode rules for several reasons. One is that Godzilla is in it. Another is that the Garoga totally gun down a whole lot of people in this episode. They kidnap Akira, and the hostage trade with the Zone Family actually feels dangerous. This is the episode where the Garoga most feel like an actual threat and not a bunch of goofy idiots in masks and costumes. There are only a few random points in other episodes where the Garoga are threatening, here they are mean for almost the entire run. It ads to the enjoyment of the series immensely to see the villains being so destructively evil. Something they should have done more of.

The monster in this episode is Jellar, who is a space blob found on a distant planet. The monster is also Kastom-Jellar, who grows from a part of Jellar that’s ripped off by Godzilla. Yes, this means there are two monsters. Double your pleasure, double your fun. Jellar and Kastom-Jellar are different enough to tell apart despite their origin as from the same being. Neither of which have what it takes to defeat Godzilla and Zone Fighter working together, despite Zone Fighter’s best efforts to fail.

Guest director: Teruo Ishii

Jellar is brought to the Garoga at Earth by other Garoga. Specifically, it’s presented to Baron Garoga, who up until this point seemed to be the leader of all Garoga, by White Garoga, who appears to be equal in rank to him. This means that there is a whole hierarchy of a Garoga Empire beyond the group that is garrisoned at Earth. The Garoga are more than just a bunch of thugs in a space station, they are a galactic empire with far reaching grasp, and the defeat of the group at Earth would just lead to more showing up. The entire series is only a tiny drop in the bucket, whatever victories Zone Fighter achieves are minor, and at some point the Garoga might just declare not worth the budget sinkhole and blow it up. They’ve sent comets to crash into Earth before, they might already be mad at the costs of a fruitless invasion. Heck, the Garoga might have other planets with other heroes that are stopping their advances. The point is we don’t know, because their is so much mystery about what is happening. And the worst thing is the series ends before the Garoga are defeated, so whatever gains are done, the evil is still out there, until it’s eventually retconned when the series is rebooted at some point in the future. If that ever happens…

But enough about futures and things, it’s all about the here and now, and we must go watch Godzilla and Zone Fighter battle some alien space goo, Garoga kidnap Akira, innocent people get gunned down, and subtextual soccer fantasies. If you need a Zone Fighter refresher, check out the Zone Fighter Splash Page!

The monster is convinced Zone Fighter is a schoolgirl!

Godzilla and Zone Fighter are fighting… YEAH! KILL HIM, GODZILLA! KILL HIM!!!!! KILL KILL KILL!!! After some punches and kicks, Godzilla kicks a rock into Zone’s chest, who catches it but is bowled over. Zone throws it back, and Godzilla soccer head bumps it back at Zone, who tosses it at Godzilla’s toes, hurting Big G on the toe. Why you got to hurt Godzilla’s toes?

Godzilla claps! Zone then flies up in the air and flies around and around in a circle and rams into Godzilla, who doesn’t even take a step back as he stops Zone. Zone stands up and they hug, as this is all an exhibition friendly sparring match that Akira and Hotaru are watching from a distance. Or perhaps they are lovers? Not really, what with all the girlfriends Hotaru will be getting before the series ends.

Godzilla and Zone Fighter fight a bit more before a zobot tells them it’s time to go, and the Zone Family leaves, waving goodbye to Godzilla. Big G lives in a rocky strip mine area just outside of Tokyo in the universe of Zone.

Baron Garoga gets a visit…from White Garoga! Who appears to be of equal rank. Both have capes and jewel-tipped scepters, and they chat among themselves complaining about work! Baron Garoga is really whining about the Zone Family, good grief. White Garoga is milky white with blue eyes. He has a gift for Baron Garoga – a small creature that will make the perfect terror-beast. It’s immune to the proton beam that Zone Fighter uses. The creature was found on a planet as a small gooey thing, and now it’s in a big version one of those bubble containers that items you buy for a quarter at the grocery stores in machines come in.

Godzilla rocks!

The Garoga rush to blast the creature to Earth in a terror-beast rocket. But Zone Dad has been monitoring the sky and radios Hotaru and Hikaru when he spots it on radar. The two rush to the landing zone. It lands in a barrel and is picked up by two Garoga agents disguised as creepy yakuza types. Hikaru and Hotaru just start punching them, and they punch back, and soon everyone is transformed and fighting over the monster capsule. Zone grabs it.

GAROGA NEW POWER OF THE WEEK – a Garoga uses an antenna as a whip, but not it causes a small explosion where it lands!

That new power is not enough, as Zone Fighter and Zone Angel just shoot these guys until they run away. When the failed agents report to their boss that they lost, they get beaten up some more! The Garoga decide to retaliate by stealing one of the Zone family, and target Akira, who is currently enthralled by watching a bunch of men in shorts running around and kicking a ball. Or soccer, as I guess it’s called by those that do the sports.

All we see is Akira get blasted at by a big gun while a sniper scope is on his head, which freeze-frames! And then cuts to his worried mother. She finally does something 21 episodes in, as it is revealed she has the power to worry. We then see Akira tied up a few seconds later and know he’s not dead. Suspense ruined!

Okay, check this set design – the Garoga are hanging out in a lair with a huge wire spider’s web in the middle of a room, red off center lighting, and a giant grandfather clock that is tilted at 45 degrees. This set design rules! I love it, best set in the series, hands down! Akira is chained to the wall, and he rotates 180 degrees. Which causes a zobot to fall from his pocket, and it’s blasted by a Garoga before it can summon help.

Why wasn’t there more with this scene?

Chained to the wall, Akira has visions of Zone Fighter’s future fight with the monster, and also visions of the guys in shorts playing soccer. Mmmmhmmm…. There is quirky editing with parts of the scenes shown in absolute silence while others have sound, and no continuity of the fighting shots. The Zone Theme even plays, changed to “Zone Junior” for some reason. Is this a verse that’s only found in the long version, and is there a Zone Angel verse?

The Garoga send a ransom message to the Zones via the zobot. the Zones debate in the midst of ticking tocks sound effects and lots of zoom-ins on concerned faces. Zones, they are concerned!

The Garoga are out having a blast, running down construction workers in their car, doing drive-bys on random construction workers, and walking into the middle of the construction site and machine gunning down a whole bunch of construction workers. They must kill at least a dozen construction workers. It rules.

The Garoga lay a trap to blow up the Zone Family when they arrive, but it doesn’t work thanks to Zone deception tricks. The Zones us a mirror to make lots of false images of them appear, and the Garoga are confused. When they do spot the Zones, they couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn!

Now it’s time for the hostage exchange. The Garoga try to make the monster grow before the exchange is over, but the monster won’t grow while in the container. The Garoga run down to knock it open, but Zone Fighter, Zone Angel, and Zone Junior gun them all down. The Red Garoga manages to knock the monster container with his dying breath, and it rolls and is knocked open.

We’re a gigantic evil empire, but at least we have dental!

Out comes Jellar! Zone Fighter hurts his knee trying to do a fancy flip, and when he finally grows big his knee is still a problem. Dang it, Zone! Get football injuries on your own time! Jellar gasses Zone Fighter with explosive gas. Zone uses his proton beam, which knocks Jellar over but does no damage, and Jellar flies around and knocks Zone Fighter, who now has no energy and has gone red.

Zone Junior is like – let’s call Godzilla! So they send a zobot. Godzilla was just chilling in his cave that has an automatic split open door. He walks out to come help! Godzilla gets there in record time, and starts punching the monster, then rips off a bit of his tentacle and tosses it aside…

That was a big mistake, and the tentacle explodes into a new Jellar, Kastom-Jellar! It’s double trouble and we’re all out of double-mint gum! Jellar brought trouble, and made it double, Team Rocket, Pokemon, it’s all Japanese so it’s all connected, people! Godzilla is a tool of the Reptillians!

Sorry about that! The two Jellars team up on Godzilla, while Zone Fighter gets recharged. Godzilla gets gassed, and he’s not a big fan of getting gassed by random jelly monsters. Zone runs in, even helping Godzilla up. How embarrassing for Godzilla. But we know Zone Fighter has to save Godzilla occasionally, because they want to sell Zone Fighter toys.

Hipsters were fighting zones before it was cool

Zone and Godzilla beat the monsters up, at least usually. At one point Godzilla jumps on both Jellars, then Zone Fighter starts jumping up and down on Godzilla’s back, which doesn’t look like it would help at all and probably hurts Godzilla. But outside of weird choreography like that, the Jellars are getting pounded. Zone tosses Jellar in the air, and Godzilla blasts him (with now PURPLE atomic breath!) and the blasted Jellar lands on Kastom-Jellar.

Godzilla purple-blasts them both, and Zone Fighter then meteor guns them. The Jellars melt into a puddle of goo, which then self-cleans and is all gone. Hooray for self-cleaning monsters! Godzilla gives V for Victory, the day is saved, and Godzilla goes home to check out what shows he missed while he was out. The VCR, the best invention ever!

This episode was a high point in the series. It’s among my favorite, both because of the design and the execution. It’s almost entirely solid, and the few weak points only serve to set up some stronger points.

Minya! Turn down that stereo, I can her it all the way in my sensory deprivation cave!